One More Adventure
by luthien-yavetil
Summary: What if Russel never existed in UP? And what if... you replace him with one certain character from Prince of Tennis? Here's the sequel to their adventures - how a lovable old man and a cocky freshman regular are still able to affect each others lives.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'll explain this madness at the bottom of this chapter.

* * *

Practice for that day had ended, and most of the Seigaku Regulars were already on their way home. Oishi Syuichirou was not one of them, and he went around the tennis club's practice area, making sure no one remained loitering after school hours. Then after padlocking the gates to the tennis courts, he headed to the equipment shed to secure the last of his duties.

The key was in and ready to turn, then he paused midway. He could hear scuffling noises inside. There _was _someone loitering around after all.

The fukubuchou tentatively pushed the doorknob inside. "Hello?" He saw no one at first, then his eyes were drawn downwards. And there he saw the youngest of the Regulars, their very own freshman Echizen Ryoma, on his knees and scanning the undersides of benches. "Echizen! What are you… doing?"

Ryoma calmly raised his head to the incredulous expression on his senior's face. Just like him to appear like what he was doing was the most natural thing in the world. "Senapi. Hi."

Oishi surveyed the cleanliness of the floor. Aside from Ryoma and his belongings, the entire clubroom was virtually spotless thanks to last week's clubroom cleaning, save the clutter of lost and found items in the box at the corner of the room. "You're looking for something? Why don't you check there?" He motioned to the box.

Ryoma bent his back and lowered his head again to the floor, focused on his task. "I just lost it today. I doubt it'll be there." Not finding it, he straightened his back, crawled to the next set of benches, and checked again. He seemed very determined to find whatever it was.

"Why don't you put it off until tomorrow? It's getting pretty late…"

"By then it might be too late!"

OIshi froze, surprised by the sudden showcase of vocals. It was rare to hear their cool super rookie say something so meaningfully. It must be really serious.

Finally, his senpai said, "Okay… What is it you're looking for?" He got on his knees and rolled up his jacket sleeves, willing to provide help where it was needed. What sort of team vice-captain would he be if he could not help a kouhai with something so simple?

Ryoma hesitated briefly before replying. "I… don't know."

"You _what?" _

"I know what it's called," Ryoma snapped, trying to sound harsh rather than flustered and failing miserably. "But… I don't know what it's called in Japanese."

That was understandable, Oishi supposed. Echizen had spent most of his life in America, his only experiences of true Japanese form his father. "Alright. Tell me what it's called in English. Maybe I'll recognize it." Oishi would not call himself an expert, but he was fairly confident in his basic English linguistic skills. It was his favorite subject, after all.

Then Ryoma proved him wrong by reciting a word he completely could not understand.

"… Darn."

"'S alright if you can't figure it out," Ryoma consoled his disappointed senpai. "But if you're gonna help me out, the object I'm looking for is small – tiny, even… and purple."

"Alright." His senpai bent down to check under another set of benches. He figured that if he found whatever his kouhai lost and recognized it, then at least he had another word to add to his English vocabulary.

But as the minutes ticked by, it started to feel that they were working a lost case. Eventually, even Ryoma gave up on the ground search and instead went to examine each of the empty cubbyhole shelves. He seemed determined to ignore every statement Oishi had to give about continuing their search tomorrow.

Oishi sighed and straightened up, glancing at the clock on the wall. At the rate they were going, it might be nightfall when they could finally head home. But he must admit, he never seen Echizen so focused – or stubborn, for that matter – over something other than tennis.

He heard a small metal clang. He looked down and discovered his shoe had slightly knocked aside the lost and found box. He stared for a moment then decided. Despite what Echizen said, it would not hurt to check inside, right?

But his kouhai turned out right after all. Instead of finding the lost item, all he could fish out were useless pieces of trash that some irresponsible people threw in, including some candy wrappers and a strange bottlecap with some safety pin attached. Understandably pissed with the littering going around in _his _clubroom, of all places, but he knew it would do no good to just stand there and complain. He could give the team a good talking to tomorrow, but for now better to hold onto the trash until he found the nearest garbage bin.

"Wait!" Ryoma cried just as Oishi was about to pocket the garbage. The boy scrambled over to his senpai and, without warning, began to wrestle the bottlecap out of his hand.

"Hey, hey, you can ust ask!" Oishi exclaimed as he dropped the cap into his eager hands.

Ryoma let out a huge sigh of relief and sat down on the nearest bench, his hands closed tightly into fists. Oishi raised a curious eyebrow and set himself down next to him.

"What is that, anyway?" Oishi asked and promptly predicted a sarcastic comment to reply to his. Probably, he would say something along the lines, "It's a bottlecap. What else could it be, senpai?"

Then again, his underclassman surprised him.

"It's a badge," Ryoma replied quietly, his forehead pressed to his hands. "The highest honor a scout could ever ask for."

"You were a… scout?"

"A Wilderness Explorer, to be precise… oh, quiet smirking, senpai, it was a really big deal back in the day."

"Heh… Well, I bet you were some big shot 'Wilderness Explorer' then. So, were you the best there ever was?"

"Nope," Ryoma replied plainly. "If you ask my moderators, they'd all tell you the same thing. I sucked pretty bad then."

'Then how's you get 'the highest honor a scout could ever ask for'?"

Ryoma sat there silently contemplating, his hands twitching every so often. Then he rose to his feet. "It's too big of a story to tell right now. Gomen, senpai."

"God, Echizen. You just got to be so secretive over everything." All this he said with an amused smile, then Oishi too got on his feet. "Fine then. Can I at least have a look at that precious object of yours? I really want to see it again now."

Ryoma opened his hands before him. It really looked like any ordinary bottlecap – it even had a small dent at the side from some past rough handling. The only noticeable thing about it was that the image on top did not advertise any Japanese product. It only stated in bold English letters the words, _'Grape Soda'_. Not a very brand-revealing name, really.

"Does your love of Ponto know no bounds, Echizen?" Oishi teased, taking the badge for a closer look.

The freshman looked very offended at this statement. "Hey, I got that badge long before I started drinking Ponta!" he exclaimed defiantly. Then momentarily, he added, "Though… maybe it was _because _of the badge I started drinking in the first place…"

Oishi laughed and nudged his head at the door. "Well, we found what you were looking for, ne? So, can we head out now? _Please?" _

"Ah," Ryoma agreed, standing up as well. He made way to retrieve his tennis bag. But once it was strapped onto his back, he stopped for a few moments then slowly looked back at his senpai, appearing a bit embarrassed. "And, uh… thanks for your help, Oishi-senpai. Really."

"No problem," Oishi said happily, relishing the wave of fulfillment that washed over him for a second. He looked at the cap in his hand. "Hey, how'd you come to lose this in the first place?"

"I usually keep it in my bag… Probably fell out when I took out my racket earlier."

"But isn't this a badge? And for badges…" He approached Ryoma as he released the metal point of the safety pin. Then he securely fastened the badge right underneath the surprised boy's shirt collar. "… aren't you supposed to wear them?" He stepped back, observing the boy's appearance. "Not bad," he remarked.

Ryoma swept up his signature white labeled cap lying wrinkled on the bench and in a swift, practiced motion pressed it over his head, the rim effectively shielding his face from his taller senpai. "You're weird, senapi…" Yet he did not make any move towards the badge like he was planning to remove it anytime soon.

Oishi cheerfully turned his kouhai around by the shoulders and nudged him towards the door. "Come on, let's hurry up, Echizen. I still have to lock up behind us here."

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm back in fanfiction again! For all those who are pissed off at me for being so weird at updating my fanfics… I'm sorry. D: And now I come back to post another one, and you're all probably thinking I won't finish it… But actually, I really think this one might be different. Although it was based on a whim, like the rest, I actually have got a good scenario planned out for the whole story! And for once, it won't be insanely long! :O

Anyway, I have to explain how I came up with this unusual crossover…

_Once upon a time, I was listening to my iPod and at the same time searching for Pixar fanart because I am EXTREMELY EXCITED FOR THE UPCOMING TOY STORY 3 MOVIE (*coughcough* sorry for shouting O_o;;)… Then while I was reading an UP comic fanart, Ryoma's song 'Rising' started playing. Then I realized these three things: _

_Russel's Asian-American (his voice actor's Japanese-American) and so is Ryoma. _

_The Ellie Badge is a 'Grape Soda' bottlecap, and Ryoma's a die-hard fan of Ponta grape soda. _

_Carl's walking stick is made out of TENNIS BALLS… and Ryoma's the Prince of Tennis. _

_Russel and Ryoma... both start with 'R'.  
_

… _And that is how madness ensued. _

_Man, I can create analogies out of anything today. O_o;; _

I'll talk more about this in the next chappy – the A/N are beginning to look too long for comfort. ^_^;;

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS OR UP. THERE. SO SUE ME NOW! … HM? YOU CAN'T? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! 'CAUSE I PLACED A DISCLAIMER AND THIS WEBSITE'S CALLED '**FANFICTION'**! TAKE THAT, SOCIETY! BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH! (They belong to Takeshi Konomi and Pixar respectively ^_^)


	2. Chapter 2

HEY GUYS! HERE'S THE LONG-AWAITED CHAPTER TWO! Updated because of a promise to elsey951 :D

* * *

About a thousand miles away from the coast of Japan, an extravagant airship soared peacefully through the air. Carl Fredrickson wore a satisfied smile, savoring the fine day the morning radio had promised. It was a perfect day for the average old-timer to spend the day napping, or sitting down with a good, thick book, easing into a calm serenity amidst the recklessness of life.

Oddly though, the seventy-six-year-old gentleman in a weary brown coat preferred very little of that nonsense and would rather stand at the vessel's vast control panel, in front of the wide windshield that gave him a marvelous view of nothing but cloud. He was well different from most individuals his age, and an ambitious one at that.

His goal was to explore all countries in the entire world. There was nothing better than the thrill of adventure or the whiff of adrenaline at every corner. He relished and treasured every place, from deserts to arctic, or grassland to wasteland. And his hope was to save these exploits until his dying day. He was sure that his late wife would love hearing about each of them.

Carl chuckled at the thought. "You hear that, Ellie?" he muttered quietly to himself. "I'm going to give you the adventure you never had. Just wait a bit longer…"

But of course, there were also technicalities. The panel before him held a collection of knobs and buttons he could never comprehend, or was he planning to. He wisely left the operation of these to the enormous dogs suffocating the workplace. Despite their canine identities, he had no doubts regarding their skills – they proved to be a most capable crew when they weren't begging for a treat or a scratch. Especially the two dogs standing loyally at each of his sides, joining his gaze out the window.

"Master," spoke the dog at his left, a frighteningly large and straight-faced Doberman with a permanent angry look in his eye. "I believe we shall be approaching our destination, which is an archipelago in Eastern Asia called Japan, in what I think shall be in twenty seven hours, or in day terms, tomorrow and two hours from now."

"Thank you, Manny," Carl replied sincerely. "But next time, try to make those reports shorter."

"Yes, Master."

A few years ago he probably would have never allowed such an intimidating monster stand so close to him. It was a reasonable fear; this dog was very well capable of killing him, and once upon a time had been just _this close_ to succeeding. But it turned out, with the sudden dismissal of a dangerous employer, this dog became virtually harmless. And it also came as a great help that the leader of the pack was well-capable of keeping him in check.

That same leader was the other dog standing at his right, a bright golden retriever grinning stupidly with his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Master?" asked he, lifting his head with a curious look on his face. "May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why have you saved Japan for our final site to visit?" Dug scrunched his face and scratched the edge of his snout to subdue an itch. Then he returned his eyes to the only human in the room, yearning for an answer.

Carl was fairly surprised at that statement. Of all the people (or animals), Dug should have known his reasons the most. Still, it had been years since they last saw that little boy. It's no wonder he forgot, he supposed.

"Don't you remember?" Carl said, absently scratching the back of the dog's ear. "That kid's half-Japanese. His dad called him back to Japan for his studies or something. We're going to visit him."

"'That' kid?" Dug's brow furrowed, similar to how a human would show frustration. Then in a moment or two, his features lit up, and he began to bounce in excitement. "_The small mailman!_"

That was what sparked a blaze of a chain reaction in the twenty-plus canines in the room.

"_SMALL MAILMAN!" _

"_Oh boy, oh boy!" _

"_Where? Where is the small mailman?" _

Carl winced at the high-pitch whine that erupted in his ear. That was one of the few words that could cause something similar to an explosion in dog brouhaha, including 'treat', 'ball', and 'fire hydrant', and was one word he could do without in any conversation. Still, he had a fool-proof way to combat the noise. All he had to do was turn off his hearing aid.

Majority of the noise had vanished, leaving only a dull tremor of dog cries and barks to enter his system. Dug tried to say something else to his master, but Carl shook his head, pointing to his ear. The dog somehow managed to realize his meaning, and barked sharply at all the other dogs. The ruckus subdued immediately, and the dogs obediently returned to their stations.

Carl reactivated his hearing aid.

Dug moaned apologetically, "Sorry, Master…"

"Just be more careful next time," Carl replied calmly. "Be glad I'm in a good mood."

And it was true. Although he would never admit it, he was looking forward to seeing Ryoma Echizen's face again. He just hoped the kid grew out of talking too much, or he was going to have to mess with his hearing aid a lot more from now on.

* * *

That's it so far! Oh yeah… Guys, if you like One More Adventure, how about voting for it in my profile? I'm trying to gather up votes to see which story should be my priority in writing. Whichever has the highest votes at any time, it'll be the story I'll work on. So if you want me to continue this story ASAP… How about voting for it? :D

Oh yes. Can I also advertise 'Debt to Pay'? It's a Toy Story fanfic I'm writing. Just saying. XD

And that's about it! Please RxR as well? :D


	3. Chapter 3

The terrible thing about the internet is that, whenever you sit down to work on a fanfiction, it always finds some way to distract you. ALWAYS.

* * *

The day Momoshiro got a raise in his daily allowance was the day Ryoma convinced him to a burger-eating race in the nearest WacDonalds from Seishun Gakuen. Being a devoted lover to both fine cuisine (in his standards) and competition (in his standards), it was nearly impossible for him to refuse.

"Fine, but you're gonna have to pay back the favor next week! Got it, ochibi?" Momo called to the boy hitching a ride on the back of his speeding bicycle just moments after the school bell announced the end of classes.

"Depends whether or not you have the stomach to beat me!" Ryoma responded with a well-developed smirk. "If you win, then I'll pay for next week's contest. But if you lose, well… there won't be some debt to pay from my part."

"Oh, getting cheeky with me, are you?"

It wasn't long before they stumbled into their destination, demanding twenty burgers _each _from the cashier who was, thankfully, long used to their frighteningly eccentric contests. Then they sat themselves at a corner, eagerly awaiting their meals with their order plate.

After a few minutes, an impatient Momo began tapping the tabletop with his fingertips.

"Nervous, senpai?" Ryoma mocked jokingly.

He raised an eyebrow amusedly, glad for the small talk to pass the time. "Nah, I'd say I'm pretty confident with my chances. Since we're waitin' and all, wanna call Inui-senpai and ask the probabilities that you're gonna have to pay up pretty dang soon?"

"Don't need to. I'd make it at about three percent."

As they tormented one another, a young couple, around university age or so, seized the table next to theirs. It wouldn't have made much difference, until one of them suddenly materialized a boombox and began playing the latest rap tunes at full blast. Normally a restaurant would kick them out immediately, but in a generally public and 'hip' fast food eatery, anything was more or less acceptable as long as it wasn't illegal. The two Seigaku Regulars were powerless.

Momo's eye twitched. "It's not that I don't 'preciate that kind of music and all," he grumbled, purposely turning the opposite direction to face the window. Ryoma could just barely make out what he was saying. "But they've got it on so loud… bound to disrupt the competition somehow…"

"At least they're not flashdancing," Ryoma reasoned sarcastically, obviously not very pleased either.

This paused their conversation for the meantime, and they resorted to staring off to the distance through the glass window next to them. It was around a full minute later that the song ended, and one of the students decided to take a break by switching to a radio station.

_"… won't _believe_ what I just saw on my way here." _

"_What? What was it?" _

"_A blimp! Floating right over the city! Look outside and check for yourself – bet everyone's raving about it on the streets. Hey listen up, you listeners, if you haven't looked up at the sky lately, you'd better now, 'cause that was the _biggest _blimp you're probably ever going to see_ _in…" _

Momo scoffed. The music earlier and his stomach's rumbling yearning had gotten him into quite a rotten temper. "Getting all hyped up just because of a single balloon? Man, that has gotta be the weirdest…"

Yet as he turned to face his underclassman, he found his face pressed to the window, supported by palms on the glass at either side of his head, and his eyes glued upward with a most concentrated appearance. He quickly pulled himself away, and stood up without seeming to notice anything around him anymore. "I've… got to go."

And with that he started sprinting to the exit of the restaurant, his thoughts a complete mystery to his bewildered senpai.

"Hey!" Momo called just before Ryoma reached the door. "Does this mean I win!"

But he was gone.

Momo sighed and leaned back on his chair. Since he was the one paying for all it either way, there was currently no need to chase after Ryoma and his sudden interest in remote-controlled balloons. And besides, this meant he could have his burgers, right?

Nevertheless, he couldn't help glancing upwards out the window as well. A great shadow had overthrown the street, and a massive silver aircraft hovered magnificently and precariously close right above Tokyo's buildings. Now he could understand why the DJs were so hyped up about it. The sight was incredible.

But he wondered what about that blimp could have alarmed Ryoma to such a great extent. He was just the average schoolkid with an uncontrollable love for tennis, right? There was no way that blimp could have played a significant role in any time of his young life…

And then the burgers arrived.

* * *

Hey guys! I hope you're liking the story so far. Gasp! The reuniting chapter is getting closer! Stay tuned!

(And if I'm taking forever in updating, I'm sorry. I've been spending too much time on my Deviantart… :()

Read and review! … Please? :D


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